Here’s that burning question that I’m sure all of you have been asking …
What is a fungus? And … is the word “fungus” plural … or is the word “fungi” plural? Is “fungi” pronounced “fung-guy” or “fun-jai”? So many questions. And not at all related to Christmas. No? Or maybe yes?
Well, here’s the scoop. First off, the word fungus is singular. The word fungi is plural. And fungi is pronouced “fun-jai” … as in “gy-roscope” or “gi-gantic”.
The Britannica website says … “Fungus, plural fungi, any of about 144,000 known species of organisms of the kingdom Fungi, which includes the yeasts, rusts, smuts, mildews, molds, and mushrooms. There are also many funguslike organisms, including slime molds and oomycetes (water molds), that do not belong to kingdom Fungi but are often called fungi.”
More info from the Britannica website is HERE especially incredibly important health/medical uses of fungi.
The Wikipedia website says similar stuff. Noteworthy to me on their website was the following sentence … “The fungus kingdom encompasses an enormous diversity of taxa with varied ecologies, life cycle strategies, and morphologies ranging from unicellular aquatic chytrids to large mushrooms.” Say what? Ok, that was beyond me but I’d bet some of you readers actually understood that. Please go HERE for more information from Wikipedia on the subject.
What prompted my interest in Fungi was that a tree behind my house, but closer to a neighbor’s house, needed to be cut down this past year because it was full of root rot … root rot, caused by a fungus that lives in the ground and travels up inside some trees and “eats” out the center of the root, then it eats out the center of the trunk, and then the center of the branches.
Often, the damage doesn’t show on the outside of the tree until a storm causes the 120-foot tall tree to break and fall on your house … unless an arborist or other knowledgable person, who knows what to look for, points out the danger and has the tree removed. As the tree behind my house was being cut down, I was told that root rot usually happens in very wet soil (like we have here in the Pacific Northwest) and usually happens to trees that are not native to the Pacific Northwest such that they have no resistance to the particular fungus that causes root rot. In other words, don’t plant non-native trees.
Also about the same time that the tree in my neighborhood was removed, Netflix produced a fascinating movie about fungi. If you have a Netflix account, check it out. If you don’t have a Netflix account, get a free one for 30 days and watch THIS SHOW. It’s very well done. It’s fascinating. The name of the Netflix show is “Fantastic Fungi, the magic beneath us.”
Another place to start to learn about fungi is on the website fantasticfungi.com. Just the opening header video is fascinating.
Another online resource for information (and products) about fungi and mushrooms is at Gaia Herbs. We can read and learn, no need to buy things unless you wish to.
But the very best description of fungi is on that Netflix movie. It’s absolutely fascinating.
Fungi are the oldest living things on the planet earth. They connect all living things, all things that live in or exist in the dirt, or in the ground/earth under the ocean, and on the highest mountains … everywhere … even beings/things in the ocean, both salt water and fresh water … fungi are literally, physically connected to everything on our planet. They always have been. And, we hope, they always will be.
So, do fungi have anything to do with Christmas? Life was created by “spirit”, that’s good for me. And, at least on this planet, fungi was the first life here, and all life here developed from fungi thereafter, including Christmas trees, and all things in the dirt are connected to fungi, including Christmas trees. O Tannenbaum!
I had a mate from the railway here this evening for supper. We watched the Netflix movie fungus and found it fascinating. It is so different to anything we knew. Brilliant!
So glad you watched it, Henry. It truly was/is fascinating.
Just finished watching the Netflix show. My gosh I had no idea! Fascinating.
Absolutely fascinating! I suspect most people don’t have any idea, I didn’t either.
I haven’t watched the Netflix video yet but even without that, this is amazing. The colors and shapes of fungi is amazing. I have a friend who “hunts” mushrooms for food. I shared this blog with him and he said the above ground mushrooms are there only to procreate or as a result of procreation (I can’t remember which) and that yes indeed the entire planet is covered inside and out with fungi. He calls fungi the engine of the earth, without fungi we would not be alive. I don’t remember hearing anything about this in school or since! Thank you for sharing this!
You are welcome, Lori. “Engine of the earth” indeed. And yes, on one of the links I posted, it said something about the fact that mushrooms or other fungus that we can see are often the result of procreation, or that’s their job, etc. Fungus also “eat” dead things and that feeds the billions of miles of fungus. I didn’t learn anything about this in school, why not??
Yes! Fungi! The breath of the earth and all things on the planet. 🙂 That Netflix movie was great. I hope everyone watches it. So much medicine comes from fungi. Hardly anyone I talk with knows that or knows how fungi connects everything. This was great. thank y0u!
Ah, the “breath of the earth”, I like that. And medicine too, yes, indeed. Fungi are life. You’re welcome, Ruby.
Great photos of different types of fungus. Fascinating photo of the center of that tree limb. Did the trunk of the tree have a hole in it too? So is root rot different from dry rot?
Good questions, Susan. Yes, root rot is different from dry rot. Although, dry rot in wood is decay caused by one of several species of fungi that digest parts of the wood and resultingly make the wood weak. They are different species (varieties?) that cause those two types of “rot”. Wood boats are extrememly susceptible to dry rot, even when the boat never touches land or any other wood, so definitely there are types of fungi that live in the water, both fresh water and salt water. When I purchased my old wood boat, Pied Piper, then had her surveyed for such things, I ended up having four hull planks replaced due to dry rot. Fungi connect everything!
Oh, the trunk of that tree had a very dark, very soft mushy center that was about one fourth of the diameter of the trunk, so it had no strength to hold the tree upright in a serious wind storm. I was very glad the arborist diagnosed it and very glad that tree is gone.
Beautiful mushrooms! I never realized there was such a variety and that they were so beautiful. Or so deadly. Or so full of health for us. Ok, just got my free 30-day trial of Netflix, going to watch that movie.
Oh, deadly, yes, another great comment and reminder to everyone. Thank you, Jamie. Most mushrooms are not deadly, but lots are. If any of you readers are thinking about going mushroom hunting, please take a class and go with a group that has a leader that knows what they’re doing. There are a few deadly mushrooms that look almost identical to edible mushrooms … don’t fool with this stuff. Live long and propser … and read my blog for many years to come! 🙂
Gorgeous plants. Are fungi plants? I guess not. Or maybe? Ok, I’ll go check out your links to info. ……… I’m back, and have learned that fungi are not plants! Plants get nutrients from photosynthesis … fungi “secrete digestive enzymes” and get nutrients from plants and animals that are “degrading”, from dead stuff. So, if fungi were the first life on this planet, how did they get food since there were no plants or animals? Ack, more research needed.
Oh, now that’s a really good question! If fungi were the first living things on earth, what did they eat? what sustained them? I don’t know! I’ve researched the question online and don’t find a good answer. I do find websites that suggest fungi were NOT the first life on earth, but many online resources concur that fungi were the first life on the planet, but none of those websites report what the fungi ate back then. Wikipedia has an article HERE that suggests fungi are 1.5 BILLION years old. I suspect we may never know the answer to maybe any of our questions. But it’s fascinating to think about and to research. Thanks, Tina.
Beautiful. Fascinating information. And great photo of the tree limb.
Jim
Thanks, Jim. It was fascinating to watch the “tree climber” take down that tree. It was about 150 tall. He had help on the ground with guys holding ropes, but just this one person climbed up in the tree and took it down over a period of several hours.
That Netflix show was amazing. Seemed like science fiction except that it wasn’t. Absolutely amazing. We’ll never look at mushrooms the same again.
Me too, Tim, mushrooms will always be so amazing from now on. It’s amazing that anything, that is as old as these fungi are, is still alive today. Next time I see a mushroom, I’m going to say bless you and thank you.
I remember Fantastic Fungi – what a brilliant show, and all of it, or well, so much of it is literally right under our feet. Thanks Ann for helping us all notice things, see things, hear lovely music and feel closer together, and in all seasons!
May the New Year of 2023 be kind to us all.